Minecraft: Ocelot Mode (DEAD!)
by Gamerwhogames
Summary: The Ocelots were separated at the foul Witherstorm's appearance. While we know much about Lukas's adventures with Jesse and his friends, what do we know about Aiden, Maya and Gill? Well, get ready to know, because I'm getting ready to show! Rated T for wriggling-space! AidenXMayaXGill love triangle may ensue... (GETTING A REWRITE! SEE CHAPTER ELEVEN!)
1. Endercon

**Author's Note:**

 **Okay, another story! This one's called... oh wait... you already read the title? Meh, I'll just skip to... the summary!... read that too? *sigh***

 **Anyways, just know that chapter one takes place at the slimeball booth, y'know, where Lukas was playing with that slimeball after Ivor scammed Petra? Yeah, that one. Also, you should probably know that this has nothing to do with my other fanfiction.**

 **Hit it, Crisper!**

* * *

The Endercon building-competition had went very well for Lukas and the Ocelots. They had won for another year in a row and to say that they were proud would've been a sure understatement.

The four Ocelots proudly loitered around the marketplace at Endercon, or at least _three_ of them did while Lukas preferred to stay out of the spotlight with them. Meeting Gabriel was... interesting. Maya couldn't stop fangirling if she was going to get paid a million dollars to do it. Aiden's bragging was enough to drive anyone else mad, but luckily Gabriel managed to keep his cool about his fan's... big mouth, if you will. Gill was relatively cool, meaning that he didn't brag or fanboy at all. In fact, the whole meeting Gabriel shabang was boring to him! Why? Because he was too busy thinking about how much fun it would be to brag about his encounter to the so-called Order of the Losers, Jesse and his friends. Of course Lukas didn't have anything to say about this.

As he staying behind at one of the booths, he was glad when his other three friends made their ways off. Maybe then he wouldn't have to put up with their petty wars.

"Well, we did it again." Aiden gloated for about the twentieth time.

"We showed those losers who's boss, huh?" Maya asked Gill, nudging him in the shoulder.

"We sure did!" He agreed smugly, actually not caring that the Order of the Losers were nowhere in sight. "Anyone know what's up with Lukas lately?" He asked as they strutted through Endercon.

"I dunno. When we were teasing the Order of the Losers about their build, you know, before Petra showed up," Aiden stopped a bit, the event playing back in his head, "The way he and Jesse were talking to each other... it sounded like they were trying to be... nice." Maya was quick to make loud gagging noises, and the other two boys snickered. "Doesn't he understand that those guys are competition? I mean, you can't befriend competition; it's... off."

"Yeah, and if he wants to get all softy-gushy, soon _everyone_ will see us as whimps. We'll be toast!" Gill added seriously. "We can't afford anything like that to- oof!" Gill hit the ground as a horrified attendee rushed passed him, arms flailing and screaming. "Watch it, punk!" Gill shouted before another person ran him over. "I said 'watch it- ooof!" He hit the ground again as yet another person knocked him to the ground. Aiden snickered a bit as Gill rolled up his shoulders, ready to send the next offender flying into space. After the loud screams reached their climax, the smile on Aiden's face faded into a curiously nervous frown.

"What's going on?" Aiden asked as he, Maya and eventually Gill noticed that many people were running in one general direction, screaming hysterically. A loud crash was heard before Aiden felt his jacket lifting up a bit. His shocked eyes, bathed in purple light, darted back and forth as he felt himself getting lifted off the ground. "AAAAAHHHH! SOMEONE! HELP!" He screamed as he floated into the air to Maya and Gill's horror.

Every bone in Gill's body was screaming at him to move and grab Aiden, but how could've he? His entire body felt numb, and his head started spinning.

'No, don't pass out now!' He thought to himself as he stared back at Aiden with wide eyes. Finally, he managed to shake the stars from his head and grab Aiden's foot, only to feel himself hovering in midair. "MAYA! HELP!" He screamed to his horrified and confused friend. She grabbed his foot, smartly staying away from the purple beam that she suspected to be the cause of the floating-friends, and then wrapped her fingers as tightly as she could around the edge of a nearby booth. She screamed in both fear and pain as the beam pulled even harder; she was surprised that the strength hadn't pulled her arms off yet. As if giving up, the beam moved from them and the three fell to the ground. Maya landed in a standing position, while Gill fell over Aiden. Gill sat up quickly and bounced to his feet.

"Get up! We need to leave, now!" Gill shouted, pulling a trembling Aiden to his feet. The three turned to begin running when there was another loud crack. They stared in trepidation as a large chunk of the convention building was torn off and sucked into a large, deep purple monster: the Witherstorm.

Aiden wanted to scream, but it felt like his throat was shut as his eyes were glued to the horror-movie in front of him. Maya shrieked in terror, and Aiden could hear Gill hyperventilating directly behind him.

"RUUUUUUUN!" Gill finally managed to cry out, and the three took off running as fast as their wobbling legs would take them. They stuck close to the crowd like a herd of sheep. Very much like a herd of scared sheep, as nobody knew where they were going. They were just going. They rushed past fiery trees, seeing blocks and people ripped from the ground and eaten by the beast which followed them with a monstrous hunger. Aiden, Gill and Maya were at the back of the crowd, tiring quickly.

To their luck, the beast, seeing the larger section of people, passed them over as if they were nothing.

Just as false form of relief was starting to set in, it hit Gill. Hard.

"WHERE'S LUKAS?!" He screamed before hearing a splintering crack.

CRASH!

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Okay! A few things you should know:**

 **This fanfiction's concept began when I finished reading Springmango101's "Lukas's Path". After reading the fanfiction, I started having Ocelot related ideas, headcanons, and here you are!**

 **Leave a review! That'd make me so happy!**


	2. Rest

**Author's Note:**

 **Here's another installment of "Ocelots and Witherstorms". Read and review!**

 **Hit it, Crisper!**

* * *

"WHERE'S LUKAS?!" Gill screamed before hearing a splintering crack.

CRASH!

"GIIIIILL!" Aiden screamed, involuntarily jumping and pushing his friend out of the way as a flaming tree collapsed where Gill had just been standing! The two landed on the ground behind the fallen tree, Maya staring in horror and suspense. Aiden slowly stumbled to his feet and helped Gill regain his own footing. They started to run before they heard a loud crash, like, painfully loud. Maya shouted in unsettlement as they watched the entire flock of players who had ran for shelter being pulled into the sky. Shelter was only a dream now.

"We need to get somewhere safe! Now! Run!" Aiden screamed. The three took off for the woods as night fell.

((Timeskip brought to you buy the guy who wrote that rabbit song))

Aiden lay restlessly on the forest floor, his hands to his chest.

'How could anyone sleep at a time like this?!' He thought to himself frustratedly, gripping the grass in his hand. The thin green growths bent in his hand and he ripped them up, allowing them to slowly float to the ground. He felt Gill at his side, shifting continuously. Aiden felt tension growing within until it threatened to leave his body in a frustrated, confused, horrified and homesick cry. Instead, he pulled his jacket over himself to make a small cover and shut his eyes, tears dripping from them.

The salty tears slid down his hot face and he held his breath, trying not to make too much noise. After a few seconds of stifling his sobs, he sighed, trying somehow to release the overwhelming feelings before he exploded.

"Aiden?" A soft, scared voice in the darkness underneath the bright moon. Aiden quickly wiped his tears and turned to face Maya who stared back at him with dependant eyes. "I... heard noises." She tried not to let him know that she heard his crying. Never do that with Aiden. Ever. "Are you... okay?"

"Yeah." He rolled over, facing the deep blue sky. "Just having a hard time sleeping, that's all." She could hear the lying tone that tried to cover the fear and anger in his voice. He rolled over, though she wanted to see his eyes. She simply put her hand on Aiden's back.

"Try to get some sleep, Aiden." Those were the last words Aiden heard before his tired body was lulled into the darkness.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I'm gonna end it right here. (not the story, just this chapter) Sorry! Started to get writer's block. Don't worry, though! I'll try my best to give you more chapters!**


	3. Seperation

**Author's Note:**

 **The stars have aligned! (lol) I give you another (really long awaited) chapter. I ran into serious writer's block, and even considered deleting this story altogether, but... here we go! You'll really wanna read chapter 2 to remember where we left off. And OMG! I'm so excited! Maya, Gill and Aiden finally get their names in the characters list! Take that, Mr. No-Credit-For-The-Minor-Characters! Hit it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: (is asleep)**

 **Me: CRISPER! WAKE UP!**

 **Crisper: AAH! Oh, I'm sorry... it's just this story's really collected some dust... though I'd take a nap for three months, but... (hits it)**

* * *

The sun was the first thing Aiden saw. He sat up, his back aching. The sky, though cloudless, was a hazey, colorless shade of yellow, and he smelled smoke in the distance. He turned to face Gill and Maya who lay motionless on the grass on either side of him, the steady rise and fall of their chests comforting Aiden.

His stomach lurched and he frantically glanced around. How long had they been sleeping? That purple and black monster, he figured, was no doubt on the move and sleeping around wasn't going to spare them at all.

"G-guys, wake up!" He spoke quietly, shaking Gill first. Hearing him groan softly, he turned to Maya, shaking her as well. In a few minutes, the two, though groggy, were coherent.

"What's up?" Gill asked, rubbing his eyes a bit.

"We need to get going." Aiden told them, standing to his feet. Maya was quick to stand as well. Gill hissed a bit, rubbing his throbbing hip before standing and stretching a bit.

"Where?" Maya asked Aiden who was scanning the plains biome before them.

"Hmm?"

"Where are we going?" She repeated.

"Well, away from here." He replied, coughing a bit. Smoke rose from the blackened ground in thin wisps where trees once stood. The entire vicinity was uninhabited, except for them of course. "We've gotta move." He reasoned as Gill walked up beside him, squinting at the area as well.

"Why can't we stay here?" He asked. Aiden's head shot towards his old friend, disbelief furrowing his eyebrows and causing his lips to twitch into a frown.

"Did you just hear yourself? 'Why can't we stay here'?! Do you _really_ want that thing coming after us, Gill?!" Aiden shouted, agression evident in his voice.

"So that what? So we can just bump into it on the way?" Gill yelled back, the two of them staring each other down as if they were in a duel. Maya quickly piped in.

"Guys! Stop being idiots and calm down!" She yelled, louder than the both of them. Neither male moved and Maya felt her blood heating up. "Now why don't we solve this like civilized adults, or do you two need to sit down in a timeout-chair?" She asked them, her voice calm and serene.

"Alright. Let's _solve_ this, then." Aiden agreed, his eyes like torches burning into Gill's. Aiden swiftly spun on his heels, deserting the two of them. Maya's eyes widened in shock. Gill sighed loudly, clamping his eyes shut and dropping his head in frustration.

"Are we just going to let him walk away, then?" Maya asked Gill, who finally looked up, glaring in the direction where Aiden steadily made his way off.

"He'll be back. He just needs to let off some steam." Gill reasoned. "Come on... we need to get some supplies." He told her, walking in a direction opposite to Aiden's path. Maya rolled her eyes before following Gill.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I know, it's kind of short, but it's just to reasssure you guys that I'm picking this back up. Just got a busload of ideas and things, so... stay tuned! Sorry about the two month wait, everyone. Thanks for not un-following, and I'll see you in the future! Awayy! (rides away on a math-book)**


	4. Run!

**Author's Note:**

 **Chapter two! This one takes place right after the previous, the usual setup, sooo... enjoy! Hit it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: (hits it)**

* * *

Aiden couldn't help but grumble to himself as he trudged aimlessly past smoky grass and overturned stone. Frustration ran rampantly through his veins, making them bulge slightly in his neck and arms, and adrenaline threatened to control him. This was all kept in check by his short temper which was just about to keel over unless if by some miracle.

"'Stop being an idiot'? _He's_ being an idiot! Oh, we don't need to run away from this... Witherstorm, thing. We just need to _wait_ for it to come after us!" He spoke in a dumb, mocking voice, magnifying Gill's perceived stupidity. He growled loudly, running his hands through his hair. "And here's Maya. Suddenly, she knows _everything_! 'Stop being idiots and let's solve this like adults, because suddenly I'm in charge of everything'!" He mimicked in a small, wimpy voice.

As he walked, fussing about his predicaments and perplexities, he noticed a herd of pigs grazing nearby. He stopped fully, looking at them with a growing anger in his eyes.

The sight of the pink mobs only brought one certain pink mob into his mind's eye: Reuben the pig.

His mind briefly drifted back to his constant rivalry with that pig and his owner, Jesse.

'Jesse? Come on! You've got plenty of things better and more important than him to think about at this juncture' he thought to himself angrily, his hands subconsciously forming fists as he glared at the peaceful animals. The instant he remembered tending to his own team, a few other names popped up in his head. Olivia and Axel.

He grimmaced to himself. He was feeling something, something he had constantly felt whenever he was around them... besides the usual enmity.

Jealousy.

As much as he hated to admit, Jesse and his gang were probably way better off than they were. Jesse didn't have a gang; he had something Aiden always wanted: friends. What he'd give to get friends. At the time, though, it seemed that nothing would ever pay the untangeable debt. So what else to do than ruin Jesse? If he managed to ruin Jesse, he thought, he'd at least have something better than what the other male would have.

He shook his head, snapping out of his musings when a pig nudged him on the leg. Aiden groaned to himself, rolling his eyes and filing past the pig who looked on in confusion. Regardless of his opposition, he somehow found himself thinking about Jesse again.

Jesse somehow had everything better, besides the winning-part. It seemed that winning was one of the few things that fate reserved to him. Winning, and good friends. On the other hand, Jesse had _great_ friends... and losing.

'Is it losing that makes him so good? Should _I_ lose more?... wait... isn't that illogical?... Ugh! Why does Jesse always have it so good?! What's he doing that I'm not? Maybe the pig gives him luck?... no! That's stupid! Why would the pig give hi-' Before he could finish the though, he felt himself tumbling downwards. A loud cry escaped him, his body rattling against the slope of coarse-dirt. While it was just a variation of dirt, it was a lot harder, even solid as rock at some points! He prayed to Notch that he'd get to the bottom soon.

POV Switch

Maya noticed the way Gill punched the trees. While he usually did it with a certain amount of flair, as an indirect way to flirt with her, there was something different about it this time. Maybe it was how roughly he yanked his jacket off before going to work. Possibly, it was the sweaty glare plastered across his face. It could've been the ferocity of the punches, the swiftness of his muscular arms, the loud grunting.

Oh... that grunting was starting to get on her nerves.

Besides that, she probably noticed the differences because Gill already had a makeshift house for three and no longer needed the wood.

"Hey, Gill! Stop whacking that tree so hard! It didn't do anything to you." Maya advised, trying to sound nonchalant, even though she was a bit on the other side of that. Gill stopped completely, turning once to glare at her from beneath glistening eyebrows. He opened his mouth to shout some rude comeback, only to change the subject mentally before continuing. Smart move.

"Did you find any food, Maya?" He asked, sounding more aggressive than he had hoped. She stared back at him for a few seconds.

"No."

"Well why don't you go do that?" He asked. She rolled her eyes with a scoff. After watching her leave, he returned to the tree, slamming it in the "gut" and knocking it root down!

After picking up the mini-block and putting it in his inventory, he sat on the tree-stump, putting his head in his hands and sighing.

'Why don't they listen when they need to?' He thought to himself, soon finding his sitting position uncomfortable. Hunching forward wasn't very pleasing, and there was nothing for him to lean into. His hip still ached from hitting the ground, and he seeked comfort. He immediately plopped onto the grassy earth, rolling onto his back and staring up at the sky.

He didn't sleep well the past night, but as good as a nap sounded, he knew that he needed to stay strong for Maya and Aiden... if Aiden would pop around anytime soon, that is.

He grimmaced. _Would_ Aiden come back around? Of course he woud! If that Witherstorm hadn't gotten to him.

'Relax, Gill! The Withersorm went somewhere else! It's not coming back here, you're safe!' He thought to himself, remembering why he had insisted they stood their ground in the first place. It wasn't like Aiden could even get as far as he imagined the Witherstorm would. Aiden just wasn't as strong as Gill was.

Gill liked to imagine that he was second-in-command, right behind Lukas, an imagination he tended to entertain in reality one time too many. He chuckled to himself, remembering a better day when this quality showed.

"Um... so, you know how Lukas was supposed to help us with the cake today?" Maya spoke nervously to Gill and Aiden. The two boys nodded in response, shuffling right as another high-school studen rushed by with a plate of cookies for the 3rd-grade baking contest. "Well he's got the flu." The two boys' eyes widened.

"Oh..." Aiden muttered, looking away from Maya and Gill. Something clicked in Gill and he turned to face Maya.

"Uh, Maya? The cake is pretty much done. We only need icing." He reminded her.

"I know, but... Lukas was supposed to be our aesthetics-guy. He's supposed to make the whole thing look pretty."

"Maya, we've got this!" Gill reassured her with a squeeze on the shoulder. The two followed him to their three-tier cake. It sat on their table, naked. Aiden clasped his hands together.

"Alright, so we paint the thing white and get it the heck over with. Whaddya say?" He suggested.

"Aiden, it's 3rd-grade, not a wedding-ceremony." Maya reminded him. "I say we put _colored_ icing on it, then I'll decorate it with these sprinkles!" She held up the bag of sprinkles for the other two to see.

"Okay, sounds good. We'll use yellow-dye." Gill decided.

"What? So we can have a giant pee-cake? Only scaredy-cats pee on their cake, Gill. We're using blue. Blue's cool, and we're cool."

"Blue's for crybabies. Blue people cry." Gill argued, stepping up to Aiden in an agressive, dominating way. Maya shyly raised her hand.

"Do I get a say in this?" She asked sheepishly.

"NO!" The two boys shouted back at her. She shrunk back a bit.

"I'm... gonna see what Heidi's up to." She bid them goodbye and dashed from the scene, leaving the two drakes to solve their squabble.

"Yellow!"

"Blue!"

"Yellow!"

"Blue!"

"I SAY 'YELLOW', AND THAT'S FINAL!" Gill finally screamed, nearly towering over Aiden. Everything in the world stopped. Parents stared, students gaped, Maya pretended to be too busy with Heidi to notice and Aiden...

Gill's scowl softened at the sight of the boy's lip quivering. Aiden's eyes were glassy now and he bravely stared back at Gill.

"Okay." Aiden stammered before backing away and pretending to be interested in someone else's cookies.

POV Switch

Maya struggled to hold the apples as she arrived where she had left. You can imagine her shock when she saw Gill sleeping on the floor. But, your imagination is wrong, my friend. She wasn't shocked at all. In fact, she herself felt she could go for a nap.

She dropped the apples and walked to Gill's side, standing over him a bit before nudging him with her foot. With a snort, he shook himself awake.

"Mm?" He stared at her groggily, slowly coming to his senses.

"I got some apples." She told him. He hummed in agreeance, nodded sleepily before laying back down, opening his eyes to stare at the sky above him. The sun shone directly overhead. Plenty of time for some more rest. He shifted, placing his hands behind his head and shutting his eyes. Maya stared at him for a few moments. "Diiiid... did Aiden come back?" She asked curiously. Only a soft snore was her answer. She nudged Gill again.

"Wha?" He moaned, barely lifting an eye.

"Gill, did Aiden come back?" She asked more firmly. Gill's eyes fluttered open and he mused over this for a few seconds. His eyes widened and he jerked into a sitting-up position.

"You didn't see him?" He asked calmly, worry only hinting his voice.

"Of course I did. I'm just asking this question for no reason." She snapped annoyedly. Gill stood to his feet, glancing around, trying to remember where Aiden was last headed. "What now?" Maya asked.

"We look for him. Luckily, I have enough wood if we need to make a shelter along the way." He replied, beginning to walk off. Maya quickly trailed behind.

"Why would we need that? Do you think he walked _that_ far?" She asked. Gill momentarily ignored the question, squinting in worry.

"It's getting dark." He answered, hoping to avoid her true muse.

POV Switch

The world a blur at first, Aiden blinked his eyes open, groaning softly and supporting himself on a hard, scaly object beneath him. A stabbing pain shot through his arms and he quickly jerked himself backwards, panting heavily. He brought his hands in front of his face, checking for any injury as he assumed the limbs were broken.

How he wished they were broken.

He flinched at the sight of his arms; his hands were slightly swollen, his fingertips were black with his hands and forearms fading into purple. What was happening to him?! He shot his gaze up to the black mass he previously supported himself on, his stomach lurching when what was a large tentacle slithered to life, sliding away from him. All was quiet. Aiden slowly brought his hands to his side, trying to ignore the tingling sensation in them as he listened closely.

-RAAAAAAAAAAWRAAARRRRRR!-

Aiden screamed loudly when the ugly Witherstorm decided to show its one-eyed face, roaring with bloodlust. He scrambled to his feet before the Witherstorm fired its laser-beam, barely missing Aiden by a block!

POV Switch

"Aiden? Aiden!" Maya felt her voice becoming sore, but she and Gill continued calling out for Aiden anyways. "I don't think he's over here..." She finally deduced, looking up at the sky. Sunset was upon them.

"We've gotta find him." Gill reinforced and Maya nodded in agreeance. They walked on for a few minutes, searching for what felt like hours to them.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Maya and Gill instantly looked at each other, recognizing the voice without pause.

"Aiden!" They started running before they were met head on by the brunette, his green eyes wide with horror.

"Aiden! What happened?!" Gill shouted.

"Are you okay?!" Maya asked almost as quickly as Gill finished.

"RUUUUNNN!" Aiden screamed, running past them. Maya and Gill had no time to react when the Witherstorm soared over a few surrounding hills, screaming in hungry fury.

"AAAAAAAHH!" They screamed before following Aiden at top speed.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So... you can probably guess what's up with Aiden, couldn't have an MC:SM story without that... anyways, don't worry about it _for now_... Thanks for reading! Leave reviews!**


	5. Sparring

**Author's Note:**

 **Time for some more from Ocelot Mode! I was thinking, and this might have a mostly headcanon ending, rather than what was originally planned (a canon-ending). Nevertheless, hit it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: (hits it)**

* * *

The three ran through the dark woods, panting and screaming loudly as the Witherstorm chased from behind.

"I TOLD YOU IT'D FIND US!" Aiden screamed. Gill ignored him, deciding that there were things far more important that their petty 'I told you so' arguments. A loud crash sounded behind them and Maya spun her head around to see the Witherstorm in all its glorious ugliness. She gasped at the sight, her eyes unmoving as her brain tried to process the impossible, the horrible.

The Witherstorm.

She wasn't watching where she was going and she tripped on a twig, sending her flying onto her back with a short scream. She clambered backwards with her hands, scooting herself with her heels. She could've cared less for the dirt filling her fingernails as the Wither eyed her with malevolent desire.

"MAYA! GET UP!" Gill screamed, running back to her and jerking her backwards and upwards. He held onto her wrist as the two of them ran through the forest, passing by a tired-looking Aiden who pushed himself to keep up. After a few paces, Gill looked over his shoulder to see that Aiden was quickly falling behind. He pushed Maya forward before rushing back to the tired boy.

He unintentionally slammed into Aiden, knocking him back a bit before trying to grasp one of the boy's arms. To his surprise, Aiden didn't budge as if he _wanted_ to die by the monster that was rushing up behind them.

"Aiden, _**come on!**_ " Gill shouted frustratedly, his eyes darting from his tired fellow to the hungry beast of a purple and black cloud. Aiden jerked back.

"Gill, run. I'll catch up, okay?" He snapped with angry eyes. Gill scoffed mentally.

'This is exactly why I should be second-in-command' he thought to himself, marveling over Aiden's pettiness and major stupidity. 'I trip up about _one_ thing and now you want to _die because of it?!'_ Deciding that he was wasting too much time, he grabbed Aiden by the upper-arm, yanking him from under the tree as Aiden protested with shouting and jerking backward.

"Gill, get your hands off me! I'm serious!" He shouted, though Gill had almost completely tuned out his and anyone's voice. Gill was much stronger than Aiden and dragged him with ease before joining with Maya (who hadn't budged during Gill's most recent spar with Aiden). Not thinking at all, he grabbed her hand and the three of them ran, leading them anywhere they hoped and prayed the black death wouldn't set its purple eye on them.

They passed by the house they had built and Maya had a feeling that Gill wasn't as confident in its wooden walls as he was before. The Witherstorm devoured it as if it was nothing more than a delicious cupcake. It didn't stop to savor the meal, ordering it to-go as it steadily kept on the Ocelots' tails.

POV Switch

Maya continued running though her legs ached and burned. Her numb feet stang each time they made contact with the ground and her deflated lungs weren't helping with the situation. She made her legs run as she was led to somewhere by Gill. She noticed Aiden lagging behind though Gill never let him go.

Before she could muse about his sudden slowness, she felt herself fall through the floor. As soon as a short cry nearly escaped her mouth, Gill's hand left her arm and clamped over her mouth, pushing her head backward.

"Get back, get back." He whispered sharply, pushing the two of them back against a wall. She remained silent, looking around frantically. Apparrently the three of them had fallen into some crack in the ground. The short, thin hiding spot seemed to be mob-free, and moonlight seeped in through the gash in the world's surface. Low rumbling was heard, the pure moonlight slowly fading into purple. Maya stifled a gasp, wondering how Aiden and Gill could be so calm at a time like this.

A low groan rumbled into a growl and a deep-purple tentacle slithered through the hole. A rough hand grasped her shoulder again and she felt herself being pulled to the side and away from the snake-like limb that explored their small hideout. For a few minutes, they waited in darkness, quickly shuffling to the side as the limb felt around the hole before finally decided there were no lives present for the taking. A loud cry erupted from the monster and they heard and felt it drift away.

Once she was sure the demonic creature was out of earshot, she let out a breath she had been holding, sliding to the floor with the boys doing the same.

"I guess we'll came out here for the night?" Gill panted, glancing around their new campout.

"It's so small, but at least it's safe." Maya sighed.

"Maybe we can make it a bit bigger?" Gill asked before glancing at Aiden who leaned dazedly on the close rock-wall. Maya glanced at Aiden, feeling a pang of compassion for him. Gill only sighed tiredly and she was glad that the boys weren't in the mood for another dispute.

"Nope. It's fine." Aiden replied, not even moving to glance at them. Maya began to feel angry when Gill scoffed.

"Who put you in charge?" Gill sneered offendedly.

"I am _not_ in the mood." Aiden muttered.

"Oh, _you're_ not in the mood? Do you think that any of what just happened is about _being in the mood_?!" Gill yelled into Aiden's ear. Aiden didn't move, numbly enduring whatever it was he had to. Maya's annoyed scowl softened into a concerned stare. As glad as she was that Aiden wasn't giving Gill _much_ of a reason to fight, it was strange for him to just... sit there and take hits. It wasn't like him.

She looked on dolefully while Gill stared at Aiden.

"Listen, we're all tired, so let's just go to-"

"You said this place was too small, right?" Gill asked before feeling around his pockets for a pickaxe.

"Gill, just sit on your butt for once!" Maya shouted, her eyes crestfallen. Gill completely ignored her. No _girl_ was going to tell him what to do. No one. After a few minutes of rummaging through his pockets and finding nothing, he cursed silently under his breath, dark eyes darting over to Aiden.

"Do you have a pickaxe Aiden?" He snapped. Aiden groaned annoyedly, checking his own stock before turning up with an wooden-pickaxe which Gill promptly snatched out of his hands. He inspected the tool with a scowl before glaring at Aiden from behind.

"Wood? What were you thinking, you noob?" He abruptly stood to his feet before slamming away at the stone blocks around him, fury leaking from each blow. Maya clamped her hands over her ears as Gill destroyed block by block until the pickaxe broke after about five blocks.

"Stupid wood!" He screamed at the shards of wood before him.

"Gill, you're tired. Just go to sleep." Maya demanded. "We don't need this cave any bigger anyways." She reminded him, hoping he'd understand so that the three of them could get their rest. She heard Gill plop to the floor, seeing his dark silhouette folding its arms.

"No. I'm not going to sleep."

"Gill, you nee-"

"Do not _tell_ me what you may think I need, Maya." He yelled, instantly silencing the girl.

"You are _such_ an idiot." She muttered to herself.

"Shut up, Maya."

" _You_ shut up!"

"JUST SHUT THE NETHER UP, MAYA! GO TO SLEEP ALREADY!" Gill suddenly screamed, sounding louder and more hostile than she had ever known.

"Wh-whatever." She quickly turned over to face the plain, grey wall of stone. She heard Gill straighten a bit, scooting next to the wall beside him and keeping watch. Before she could muse on how Aiden hadn't moved since, her body fell asleep.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Okay! There you go! There's another one coming up soon, soo... leave a review and tell me what you think about these Ocelot headcanons! I hope you like what I'm doing with these characters, bringing out their worst and all... as bad as that may sound... This is probably only a good story for those of you who are either interested in the genre alone, or are interested in the Blaze-Rods-to-Be. Anyways, I enjoy writing these kinds of things! hope you'll all like how this will play out.**


	6. Fishy

**Author's Note:**

 **Okay... so, yeah! Here we go! More from the Ocelots, and, yes, it's a bit of an insult to my own creativity about how Aiden's trying to hide his Wither sickness, but... I hope you guys still enjoy the story nevertheless! Anyways, Watcher321 hit it spot on as far as what I wanted to achieve in this story: Epic Ocelot-Group Dynamics! That's this story in two words.**

 **Hit it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: (hits it)**

Aiden woke up, blinking his eyes a bit. The dark sky played outside of the hole above him and he sighed. His body needed rest, but sleep was unachievable with the angst he was going through. He pulled his hands outof his pockets. The once-healthy limbs were now black and purple, only a few patches of clear skin visible on his lower arms. The infection, gratefully, hadn't spread to his upper-arms but the pain was still there.

"Aiden, what _is_ that?" He flinched at the sound of the feminine voice, jerking his head around to see Maya, staring at him from behind.

"It's nothing, Maya." He spoke quickly before she started crawling towards him. "Maya, you're supposed to be asleep!"

"You're not the boss of me, Aiden. What's that on your arms?"

"It's nothing, just... dirt, okay?" He lied, rolling his jacket-sleeves back over his darkened arms and looking away. Maya couldn't see his hands due to folded arms, but decided to pry anyways.

"What is it, Aiden? For real?"

"It's _nothing_ , Maya! I fell down a hill and got dirt on my hands. Now shut up and go to sleep! Leave me alone!" He yelled, rolling over and cringing when his body weight was on both of his hands. Maya continued to stare at him a bit more.

"I don't think it's dirt." She said before returning to her spot for some sleep. Meanwhile, Aiden tried not to cry.

((Timeskip brought to you by Stereotypes and Overused Plot Styles!))

The sun rose slowly in the pale sky and Gill opened his eyes and yawned.

"Aiden, Maya, get up." Gill demanded, standing to his feet. Ignoring the soft snapping of his tired joints, he walked over to Maya and Aiden, simultaneously shaking them awake. "We need to get out of here, it's time to go."

"Why do we have to get up so early?" Maya groaned, shoving Gill's hands away. "We're safe here, plus we're all tired." She said, rolling over.

"We need to get food, Maya. That's why. So get up." He pulled her onto her feet before handing her a few blocks of dirt. "Build a staircase so we can get the Nether out of here." She sleepily allowed him to place the blocks in her hands before he walked to Aiden. "Aiden, wake up!" He shook the other male awake, unknowingly squeezing Aiden's burning arms. Aiden jerked awake, instantly slapping Gill across the face.

"Ow! Unnecessary roughness, Aiden!" Gill shouted back while Aiden rubbed his arms. "Okay, I'm just going to act like that didn't happen. We need to-"

"Uh-uh. I am _not_ going to let _you_ lead us again."

"Alright, Aiden. What's your plan? Sleep all day and play hard to-" Before Gill could finish, Aiden gave him another sound slap to the face, and the angered look on Aiden's face let Gill know that he meant to slap him that time.

"Shut up and listen. We don't have time to clean up your stupid mistakes." Aiden said. Gill noticed Maya fuming silently behind the two of them. Gill felt his hands forming fists.

"Fine. Whatever you say." He agreed, walking towards Maya. He spun on his heels to face Aiden, a deadpan look on his face as he folded his arms. "Well, what now Aiden?" He asked, scratching his face a few seconds later.

"We..." Aiden felt his throat become suddenly dry, and he knew that it wasn't connected to his painful arms. He stood for a few minuts, his grass-green eyes focused on his feet. Gill shifted and Maya felt uneasy.

"You don't have any ideas? Do you?" Gill accused.

"I have an idea! Why don't we go get food, like you planned, Gill?" Maya suggested, standing between them and giving them an annoyed look as the two boys stared each other in the face, Aiden glaring sharply while Gill wore an annoyed, dull frown.

"I don't think we should go fishing. That's _my_ plan. We need to follow _Aiden's_ plan." He explained to Maya with a smug, as a matter of factly voice that made Aiden sharpen his scowl. "Well, Aiden?"

"... Screw you." He spoke with venom and spite. Gill only scoffed.

"Well? Who's plan are we going with? Yours, or _mine_?" He asked. Aiden's lip quivered and his hands would've formed fists, but they were throbbing at that moment. He sighed defeatedly, looking away from Gill ashamedly.

"Yours." He admitted.

"Thank you." He said firmly, snatching the dirt-blocks from Maya and building them a quick staircase. After the short climb, they started searching for a lake.

For the first few minutes, there was nothing but silence. Finally, Maya decided to speak up, ease the tension.

"So... uh..." The annoyed glares of the two men scared her speechless. "Yeeeaaah..." End of story. A bit later, they spotted a small lake, just right for fishing.

"Alright. We need someone to go mining for stone and coal for a furnace. Aiden, you're with me." Gill commanded.

"Can't. Tired." Aiden explained hoarsely. Gill sent him a frustrated glare while Aiden stared back dully.

"You're full of it." He concluded before walking away. Aiden watched him leave with Maya shaking her head.

"Come on. Let's go, Aiden." She said, grabbing him by the arm. Immediately he jerked back from her, wincing in pain. She gave him a weird look and he stared at her for a few seconds before frowning aggressively.

"What're _you_ looking at?"

"Fine, whatever. Let's go already." She said, walking off. Aiden straightened, his back feeling stiff as he followed her.

((Le timeskip, brought to you by Le _Otra_ Timeskip))

After some trees were punched by Maya and some water checked by Aiden who wouldn't punch said trees, two fishing rods were produced and said people fished.

They cast their rods in, allowing the bobber to... bob. Aiden seemed focused on his line, but Maya was more concerned about the purpled fingers and hands that trembled slightly as if fighting to keep hold of the rod.

"Are you ever going to get that mud off?" She asked softly. Aiden kindly ignored her, staring straight ahead as he struggled to steady his hands. She backed off with a sigh, focusing on her line.

POV Switch

'I thought she was NEVER going to look away', Aiden thought, sighing with relief when she finally left him alone. His eyes tracked over to her line that she was suddenly so dissolved in. He noticed that she stared at it intently, as if a Creeper was about to spawn at the end of it. That's when he noticed that he was staring at her face. The instant it dawned on him, his face flushed red and he quickly looked away, pretending to be focused on the pond ripples.

(and Maya's like OMG he looked at me! lol, jk)

POV Switch

"Maya, don't be so... bummed about the way Gill and I've been fighting, okay?" He asked. Maya glanced at him and he quickly looked away. "I mean, we're boys. It's what we do. We fight for things, like jobs, attention, girls, ah! N-not that we've been fighting for girls lately... it's just... sometimes." He explained, quickly shutting up. He cleared his throat, trying to ease the embarassing mood.

"Okay, Aiden." Maya replied stiffly. "I just wish you wouldn't do it so much." She added. Aiden sent her an annoyed, yet sorry look. His lip twitching, he turned back to his rod before it dropped out of his hands just like that. The rod fell into the water with a splash, and Maya instantly turned her head.

"Um... Aiden?"

"What?"

"... are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Maya. I just dropped my fishing rod." He explained stiffly, reaching into the water to pick it up. The cold water was abundantly refreshing to his sore fingers, and it took him a little bit to get the stiff protrusions to curl around the rod's handle. After working at it awkwardly, he finally managed to pull his hand out of the water. He sighed as the pain in his arms subsided with the cool water.

"Aha!" He instantly flinched turning his head to face Maya.

"The heck, Maya!" He shouted, just about pushed over the edge with her snooping attitude.

"I _knew_ it wasn't mud!" She shouted, pointing a finger at him, his purple hands specifically. "If it was mud, it would've washed off. And since when is mud purple?!" He glared at her for a moment before softening his eyes and looking away. Her voice. It wasn't _completely_ of the accusing 'Oo! Busted!' nature, he felt. It seemed more like felt like she had finally gotten him to admit something important that she felt she needed to know. If you can understand me, here. "Seriously, Aiden. Open up, already. What're you hiding?"

"Nothing. I'm fine, okay?"

"Oh, okay." She finally agreed, looking crestfallen. Aiden rolled his eyes and bought her trick, turning back to his line before he felt a horrible pain shoot through his arm.

"OW!" He shouted, grasping his arm and realizing that Maya was inches from him and had just poked his arm. She had tricked him and now he truly knew how hard it would actually be to get her to give up.

"That's what you call 'fine'? I barely even tapped you and you act like I just stabbed you with something!"

"I'm not yelling about _that_ , Maya." He lied.

"Then what was it, Aiden?"

"A fish bit my toe."

"Your feet aren't even in the water! Why are you grasping your arm if it's not hurting?" She asked, pointing at his arm.

"OW!" He shouted again, causing Maya to flinch.

"Sorry. That was actually an accident." She admitted sheepishly as Aiden cursed under his breath. "There's something wrong with you, Aiden." She said. Aiden stared at his fishing rod for a few moments, his hands trembling as well. He stared his hands down, as if trying to command them to be still for his sake. After a few minutes, the stick wobbled out of his grasp. He tried to refrain from screaming, instead kicking the stick further into the water and standing up to leave. Maya sighed frustratedly.

"Seriously. What is with boys?" She asked, standing up to follow him.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Me: Ikr with boys. And that's coming from a girl, so men, don't be offended. It's just that we girls don't understand you boys, but we all have our flaws. That's okay, as long as you try to fix them. Women are crazy sometimes too. We have our moments.**

 **But men with Wither are a whole nother story (if 'nother' is a word)**

 **Petra: Hey, Gamer. Don't forget that we have girl's night tonight. Bring your gossip with you!**

 **Me: Alright! There's this really juicy one about this guy! He's got probz, Petra!**

 **You: Hypocrite.**

 **Me:... *hids in a marshmallow***

 **Petra: Gamer? Where'd she go?... *Shrugs* Close it, Crisper.**

 **Crisper:... I'm a boy, too, you know. I don't really like the idea of girls getting together to gossip about our boy-problems.**

 **Petra:... *chuckles nervously* GIRLS, WE'RE BUSTED! (closes it)**


	7. Pig

**Author's Note:**

 **Wow. Here's another one, so... enjoy it...? Uh, actually, you might not enjoy it because of this little prompt that's about to come up:**

 **PS: ANIMAL CRUELTY! Now that I've got your attention, there's a short scene of animal cruelty down there, so viewers and pig-lovers discreet!**

 **Yeah... just thought I'd warn you. This is an angsty story, so... not exactly puppies and rainbows. Anyways, hit it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: I don't know... those poor little piggies.**

 **Me: I know, Crisper.**

 **Animal Abuse = Not Cool**

 **I'll give it to people with mental disabilities (as in I won't be** _ **so**_ **mad), but for people who do it for fun (and are in their right minds), I'm like 'Seriously? Get a wholesome hobby, freak!' Well, before this AN turns into an animal-rights campaign, hit it, Crisper.**

 **Crisper: (hits it)**

* * *

With an inventory nearly full of stone, near-broken pickaxes, coal and iron, Gill felt like he had actually accomplished something that day. The darkness of the cave previously hadn't bothered him, but with his pockets full, getting home was now top priority. Even though he didn't have a place to call home.

He walked out into the day of light, smiling a bit as the warm rays tickled his face. 'Weird', he thought, 'Was I in that cave too long or what?' He thought to himself before something nudged his foot. He flinched, falling over. He looked around before his eyes met with those of his captor: a pig.

His smile instantly faded as a more painful version of a pig surfaced in front of his mind's eye. But Reuben became the least of his concerns as quickly as he was remembered when he remembered the pig's owner: Jesse.

Jesse had everything... well, not _everything_. He didn't have the public's eye. He didn't have a shelf lined with trophies and plaques of records. He wasn't the 5-year running champion of Endercon.

Gill could remember every singe year he wiped the floor with Jesse's face. But... was that everything?

He also recalled every year before the championship. Every single year watching Jesse, Olivia, Axel and even that pig Reuben struggling to come up with some handshake that was lame as heck. Then he'd insult Axel for his large size and leave. Next, they'd knock out their competition like it was nothing. Jesse, Olivia, Axel and Reuben would all leave to do something fun, even after losing. Then the next year, they'd all come back as if _almost_ nothing happened.

Gill at first thought that it was stupidity, but getting chased by a giant black monster-thing had apparently done some things to his head. He was seeing it a different way.

Jesse and his gang weren't being a bunch of idiots coming back every year to certain destruction. It was... togetherness. Losing couldn't seperate them, could it?

Now losing did _tons_ to the Ocelots. Aiden would throw a fit. Maya would... also throw a fit. He would throw a fit, as well. Lukas... Lukas would stay quiet, trying to encourage them on how much better the next year would be. Which was natural. Who likes losing? But... it had sort of a lasting effect on them. The insults got harsher, Lukas got quieter, discord ensued, yelling... but Jesse didn't seem to go through any of that. None of them did!

It... it just wasn't fair. He tried to do everything right, he really did. He tried handing out compliments to his teammates. He tried not to get mad when things didn't go his way. But every time he saw Jesse and that pig, he just... lost it.

He was losing it. Right there, in a plain, in the middle of nowhere, lost, scared, alone, nowhere to run or hide but a crack in the ground. He was losing it just _thinking_ about Jesse. A random pig was triggering flashbacks he knew very well that he had, but just didn't like talking about. There was a very good reason he didn't like talking about this kind of thing.

His panting increased and he realized that he was shaking, his eyes watery as he glared at the pig who had the nerve to nudge him again.

"Beat it, you stupid animal." He croaked, his voice shaky with rage. The pig sent him a confused, wall-eyed stare, tilting his head to the side as if questioning Gill's authority. "GET OUTTA HERE!" Gill suddenly screamed, causing the pig to squeal, jerking backwards in fear, but not leaving the scene. "That was your last chance." Gill told the pig before grabbing it by the neck. The small, pink animal squealed in horror before choking up. Gill dragged the animal, ignoring the scuffing of hooves on the stony ground. He felt around his pockets before pulling out the stone-pickaxe he had built before. It was supposed to be used as mining, but now it served a greater purpose: Freeing his mind.

He threw the animal at the stone wall, the painful squeals filling his ears. He was silent as he lunged for the pig as it tried to escape. Straddled over it, he held it to the ground before pulling out a stone and smashing its hind legs with it. The agonized screams heightened as the stone scraped away skin, bloodying the animal as Gill smashed the pig's bones. He kicked the lame pig away from himself, panting heavily before pulling out his pickaxe.

The pig, as if he knew what was about to happen, began another roll of horrific grunts and screams, dragging himself with his front legs but failing miserably. His hooves slipped and scuffed in the puddle of blood surrounding his hind legs. Gill screamed, holding the pickaxe over his head and scaring the pig. He tightened his grip on the weapon before slamming it onto the pig's side. Blood splashed across his face and the pig writhed in agony, kicking its legs at unimaginable speed. For a few seconds, Gill just stared at it, feeling nothing. There was no fear in his eyes, no obvious pleasure. Only a dull sensation overwhelmed him.

He almost forgot why he was doing this. _Almost_.

His eye twitched as his anger took control. Screaming loudly, he wrenched the weapon from the swine's bloody stomach and brought it down again, ripping flesh and ribs all while the pig screamed and kicked. His own loud screams turned to sobs and tears spilled from his own eyes as he slashed at the dying animal. He dropped the pickaxe, falling to his knees and weeping.

"I HATE YOU, JESSE! IT'S NOT FAIR! I HATE YOU SO MUCH!" He cried to the sky, sobbing deeply and trembling violently before he eased to the floor, lying in the pigs blood as the animal gave a last kick before blood-loss and fear claimed his life.

He lay next to the pig, the smell of blood much less than overpowering as he cried softly. He teased the pickaxe out of the pig before allowing it to drop to the floor. His black beard was wet with tears and drops of blood. His right eye burned as tears left it. After taking a few minutes to compose himself, he dizzily stood to his feet, his head pounding from crying.

He looked at the mess of dead flesh, bones, blood and stone before him. Feeling a bit sorry for the pig, he dropped his pickaxe and left to clean his hands. He didn't want to remember it.

POV Switch

Maybe it was because they were all tired and hungry. Maybe it was because of the thing creeping up his arms. Maya, however, didn't care that he was going slower than usual and she caught up with him in mere seconds after his attempted escape.

"Aiden! What's wrong with you? What's that on your arms?"

"Would you _stop_ asking questions?!" Aiden snapped back, clearly enfuriated.

"I'm not gonna stop until I get answers, Aiden."

"Geez, and since when were you so concerned about my well-being, Maya?!" Maya's eyes widened in surprise and her cheeks turned slightly pink. She formed her lips to say something, but the words were all stuck in her neck. She quickly... did nothing.

Aiden shot her a weird glance, obviously not sure of her mental-capacity at the moment. Was she staring at his arms or something? Were they really that bad? No. News-flash, but she was staring at his face, into his eyes.

This was really awkward.

"Um... it was, um..." She felt like her brain had upped and left her, leaving her with a numb head full of fluid. All memory was gone and the world was a light, blurry mess of color. Her lips quivered as she fumbled for a sentence.

"Whatever." He interrupted, staring right at her. "Let's just get some more food before Gill comes back here to chew out our blocks." He demanded, walking back to the pond and leaving Maya in a stupor. Maya shook the bits from her head and scurried until she was a few blocks behind him.

She stared at him from behind as they walked in silence. He sat on one side of their fishing-pong and she took the other, both of them avoiding eye contact.

"Aiden..."

"If you're going to pry me again, I suggest you don't."

"... okay. I just wanted to tell you that I've been caring about you." There was nothing but silence. Aiden glanced down at the pond, seeing his fishing rod in it.

"Wow... okay." Sarcasm was beautifully laced on his words, a sardonic grin coming across his face. "That's a lot coming from someone who never once showed it."

"How could you say that?"

"You didn't care about _me_ , Maya. You only cared about _winning_. In fact, the only thing you're concerned about now is winning me over to get me to spill some beans about something that doesn't even matter."

"Aiden, that's not what-"

"Just shut up and fish, Maya."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong with your hands." She repeated determinedly. Aiden sent her a troubling stare, glaring right into her soul with piercing eyes that used to be soft like grass.

"Then _I'll_ shut up and fish." He said coldly, taking the fishing rod from her hands. She was too stunned to react, only letting him pull it out of her grasp. He tossed the fishing hook a few blocks away from himself and stared angrily at the pond. Maya watched his face for a few seconds, sighing with exhaustion. She stood up and began to walk away. Aiden glanced at her. "Where are you going?" He asked almost accusingly.

"I'm... just gonna walk around." She told him. Aiden took one glance at the sky before deciding that life had other plans.

"No, it's about to get dark out." He told her, watching the sun with his green eyes.

"Then we need to find Gill, then." She said. Aiden rolled his eyes, tossing the fishing-rod down and standing to his feet. He cringed when his body weight shifted to his hands and arms as he pushed himself off the ground.

"Let's go, then." He said, walking right past her and assuming leadership.

"You have to stay here and fish, Aiden."

"Oh, so that you can get torn to part by zombies?" He asked. She raised her finger to protest. "Blown up by Creepers?" He interrupted. Maya doggedly prepared to speak. "Shot by skeletons?! Eaten by wolves, Maya?!" He was yelling at her now, walking up to her until her back was up against the tree. "Is that what you want, Maya? To get killed?!" She stayed silent for a few seconds.

"No."

"Then you need to shut up and listen. _I'm_ in charge, you hear?" He yelled firmly, his green eyes darker than the sky above their heads.

"Fine." She finally agreed. He sent her one last burning look before backing away and walking off, not fully caring that she was a few paces behind him.

POV Switch

Gill stared at the sky, seeing the pale blue fading into a yellowish-red haze. Nighttime was approaching, obviously, and there needn't be more said about the tragic events that followed the setting sun. Back to camp it was, he had decided.

'Great. More stupid Aiden and naive Maya' he thought to himself as the dry grass gave character to his heave footsteps. He walked a bit more before suddenly stopping, clamping a hand over the right side of his face as it was overwhelmed with blinding pain. Literally. He couldn't see. In accompany to the stinging sensation that claimed his cheek, his eye felt like it was full of dry, gritty clumps of sand.

'Okay, this isn't natural' he thought, tensing up as the pain slowly intensified. After a few more seconds, the heat reached its climax, blowing over after a few more seconds of pain. As it died down, Gill slowly removed his hand from his eye, seeing that it was wet with tears. He felt a bit shaky from the half-minute of torture and continued on, musing to himself about it.

POV Switch

Maya dreaded silence enough as it was.

'What is he hiding?! Why isn't he telling me?!' She mused frustratedly, unintentionally giving him an angry glare. Aiden, as if having had sensed her eyes on his back, turned his head to face her. She flinched, instantly looking away. Aiden said nothing and faced the dark road ahead of himself.

Okay, maybe the silence wasn't so bad.

It would be a few minutes more before her mind would switch yet again, and she soon found herself dreading the silence again.

"Um... Aiden?"

"What?" His icy tone caused her to shrink back a bit.

"Well, I, uh..." Her voice trailed off when she looked into his green eyes and she looked away. She heard Aiden mumble something before the silence returned yet again to taunt her.

POV Switch

Aiden mused silently, not chancing Maya a look. Had she finally decided to shut up? Good, then.

Now he could figure out exactly what was going on with his arms.

Without her stressing him the heck out about it, he could think clearly about the situation. Not trying to draw attention to himself from a certain annoying woman, he glanced at his hands. There was just enough sunlight for him to see that the ailness still hadn't left him. As far as pain went, there was only a constant warmth to them, an uncomfortable one. They mostly hurt whenever he was using them.

He shuddered as a cool breeze swept over him, feeling its icy touch even under his leather Ocelot jacket. A few seconds later, he felt warm all over. 'That's weird', he thought to himself, noting the sudden change.

He instantly shrugged it off when he saw a silhouette wandering a way off.

"Gill?!" He shouted, starting to rush up to it. Maya stared at it a few seconds longer before turning to face Aiden.

"Aiden, I don't think that's Gill." She said as she fell in his step, not taking her eyes off the drunk figure that teetered around in the woods. It was too dark to make out the person's face, and Maya wasn't going to take that risk.

"It has to be, Maya. There's no one else out here, dummy." Aiden snapped, running towards the figure.

Dummy?

Maya shrugged the name off for the time being. She was pretty used to it and gave her own share of insults...

Dummy?

On second thought, he was pretty much a jerk to her the entire day. A little backlash would do. What damage would it do if it would be saving him from impending doom anyways?

"I'm the dummy? At least I have good hands, Aiden!"

"The heck is _that_ supposed to mean?!" He shouted back as the figure approached him though his back was turned.

"You know what that means, Aiden."

"Seriously?! Again with the arms?! I'm _fine_ Maya!" He shouted, continuing to approach the mystery man. Maya scoffed aloud, turning her back on the both of them.

"I'm not a dummy." She repeated to herself over and over again, hoping it was true and fuming over Aiden's ignorance. A loud, head-turning cry resounded behind her and she quickly spun around.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So... um... yeah! More from this story. Eh, so plot twist, eh? Not with Aiden and Maya. With Gill. Yeah, just had to do that... well, cya next chappie! Close it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: (is about to close it)**

 **Me: Wait! Uh... guys, there's been a review that I need to tell everyone about.**

 **Crisper:... is it bad?**

 **Me: Not at all! Just a little misunderstanding that needs to be worked out.**

 **Crisper: Misunderstanding about who?**

 **Me: Uh... you.**

 **Crisper: (goes emo) No one understands me!**

 **Me: It's alright, it's not even that bad. Um, so someone apparently thinks that Crisper is another person who helps me write stories. So, to that person and anyone else who may think that, Crisper is an OC. He came around when I started ending my starting-notes with 'Hit it, Crisper'. One day, I decided that someone needed to actually hit it, so... Crisper was created! But, yeah, he's not a person who writes these stories. Anyways, now you can close it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: Wait! One more thing... I know this may be asking a bit much, but... will I ever be in one of your stories? Like, as a character in the cast?**

 **Me:... maybe someday.**

 **Crisper: Okiedoke! (closes it)**


	8. Brain

**Author's Note:**

 **Uh, hey everyone! Glad you're back for some more MC:OM! Thanks for reading, and hit it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: Okay! (hits it)**

* * *

"Aiden!" Maya screamed, rushing up to Aiden who was being manhandled by the zombie. Instinct and fury taking over, she gave the mob a good whop to the face, distracting it enough so that she could get Aiden from under it. She screamed, running off. Agitated, the zombie gave a scream just as Aiden scurried from his spot. The monster gave chase while Aiden and Maya ran for their lives.

"I told you it wasn't Gill!" Maya panted as they dodged trees and twigs. Aiden continued in the rush, too tired to give riposte or even scream. They glanced over their shoulders time again to see that they had lost the assailant. Aiden instantly ground to a stop, Maya only running a few more paces before slamming into another mob, the both of them toppling to the ground. Maya instantly sprung into action, attempting to throw the nasty villain a barrage of punches before both of her fists were grasped and barricaded by strong hands. She fought for a few seconds before her eyes landed on her assailant's bearded face.

"Gill?!" She shouted in surprise before Gill pushed her off of himself. Maya laughed out loud before sitting up on the ground as Aiden trudged up to them, panting heavily. "Aiden, look who-"

"I _know_ who it is, Maya." Aiden interrupted, his voice laced with hostility as he locked eyes with Gill. Maya instantly went quiet at this sign. 'Here it comes', she thought, scowling at the two boys. She was fed up with their fighting.

"Does anyone remember how to get home form here?" Aiden asked, his voice quiet and hoarse. Gill nodded.

'Oh, so now you're cooperating', Maya sneered inwardly, imagining how horrible the following day would be. She only then noticed that Gill had stood and was pulling her onto her feet. Only just realizing this, her feet slipped and she fell right on her butt.

"Get up, Maya. I know you're tired but we can't stay here." Gill told her, grabbing her arm again.

"I'm not tired." Maya said. "I'm just surprised you two idiots aren't butting heads right now." Gill and Aiden, instantly pricked by her harsh words, glared at her almost simultaneously.

"Shut up, Maya." Aiden sneered.

((Le timeskip, brought to you by Stalwarts! Warts that stall!))

"Did you get any food, Aiden?" Gill asked after placing a newly crafted furnace in their little cave-home. Aiden immediately stiffened.

"No." He replied, instantly looking at the glowing furnace. Gill sighed, turning over the coals in the furnace before placing some iron-ores in it. After stoking the flame for a few seconds, he instantly dropped the stick, gasping in pain as he covered his right eye. Maya's eyes widened in unsettlement and she sat up from lying on the stone.

"Gill, what's wrong?" She asked.

"It's my eye." He choked out, holding it for a few seconds before the pain subsided, leaving the wound feeling warm. He chuckled a bit, glancing at Aiden who had his back turned. "You must've hit me pretty hard, huh?"

"How could you joke at a time like this?" Aiden asked, hiding his desperation with his firm, angry tone.

"Well, uh, something about laughter's good for you. You know, like, what good is moping around going to do for us?" He asked. Aiden rolled his eyes and sat in a corner, staring at the stony walls.

"I'm not going to pretend we haven't been through crap, I'll tell you that," Maya spoke up, "But... I think Gill's right."

"Oh! So now you're agreeing with him?! For what?! Because I hurt your little feelings?" Aiden asked in a mocking tone, sneering at her as he spoke.

"Whatever, Aiden." She said, rolling her eyes at him and looking away.

"That's it. I'm going outside." Aiden scoffed, standing up and shoving his way past Gill and up the stairs.

"I wouldn't do that if-"

"Shut up and leave me alone, Gill!" Aiden yelled, almost screaming, and stormed up the stairs. Gill sighed, putting the stick back into the fire and turning the coals over again.

"It's kind of hard to be funny when he's crushing you every chance he gets, huh?" Maya asked thoughtfully, running her fingers across the cool stone.

"I know. Such a jerk." He replied, Aiden's constant opposition more than just getting to him. He pulled out some iron and arranged them on the crafting grid. "I know it's crazy what's going on, but... he can at least try to get better about it. I mean, sure, we've... we've been through some things, but... we could at least try." He thought aloud, no longer remembering that Maya was in the room. 'We can try to be like Jesse' he thought.

"Try what?" Maya asked. Gill immediately went silent, turning his attention away from her and the warm furnace.

"I-It's complicated, Maya."

"... of course it is." She turned her head away from him and he sighed tiredly.

Eventually, Aiden returned. Maya watched him climb down the dirty staircase Gill had built. His eyelids sagged as his arms did, and he was a zombie encased in living flesh. His face seemed pale, but Maya knew much better than to pry about it. He instantly went to sleep, followed by Gill within a few minutes. She remained, the fire snapping off at her as if fussing about her problems. She watched the two sleep for a few minutes before quietly standing. She tiptoed around their sprawled out bodies and up the stairs to get some fresh air.

As dangerous as it was to be out so late at night, Maya didn't care. She knew that staying still and quiet would keep the hostile killers at bay if just for ten minutes. Ten minutes was all she needed.

She glanced up at the sky, seeing the stars staring back at her with pinpricks of orbs. The moon kept her company only until its silence pushed her away. The only person Maya had for herself now was... herself.

She sighed, laying on the grass while trying to keep her low profile.

'No one understands me', she thought dismally, frowning as she stared into the spackled oblivion. She thought back to Aiden's harsh words. She could still feel his anger, though the moment itself was long gone. 'They really _do_ think I'm stupid', she thought to herself, scowling in anger.

What she really wanted in the boys was... value. That was something they almost never gave her. Probably the only time she was shown worth was when she was playing, ugh... the girl on the shoulder. Well... it wasn't so bad while it lasted, and, hey! When it she was doing _really_ well she got complimented around the house. It wasn't exactly that the practice was facilitated by the boys. She kind of learned to do it on her own, when she first stopped getting their attention. Lukas was never really a fan of it, but Aiden and Gill seemed to like it.

As said, it was only good when it lasted.

She was just their girl, their little toy to play around with while they were in the public eye as the Ocelots. She'd play right along, too. But when no one was looking, when fans weren't lurking around, she was almost nothing. Her opinions didn't matter. She was just supposed to look cute and be funny.

'Where can I get some respect around here?!' She shouted mentally and desperately. She thought she had given up on that futile race a long time ago, but on nights like these where the pain was so real, she couldn't help but wish again.

She wanted them to know that she had a mind, not just a body. She wanted to show them that her input was worth heeding to, not that her voice was as pretty as a song. She wanted them to see her as a solution, not someone as pretty as a picture and sexy to boot.

'I wanna be like Olivia', she thought mindlessly (though mindlessly? what an oxymoron!). Suddenly she realized that she was staring at the sky, and she instantly sat up. Did she really just think that?! Of course she did. Truth be told, all of the Ocelots had Jesse-related problems. Just one of the joys of being close enough to share the household flu.

As cliche as it might sound, Olivia was actually on Maya's list of people to hate, and it's been made known why the diva would have beef with a Redstone-nerd.

Olivia was in a few ways just like her. She was a girl, of course. She had two friends, both of which were men. She was part of a self-established organization... of sorts, if I may add. The Ocelots had a name to keep up, a fan-base to keep happy. Jesse and his no-names were just that. They literally had no name!

So what was it about Olivia that was so truly fascinating to them?

Was it her clothes? Was there some kind of magic behind that so ten-months ago beanie, the knitted vest over plain white shirt?

Maya couldn't help but look at her own clothes, shooting that possibility down. It wasn't logical that nerdy-clothes were better than her up-to-the-second outfit, which was really just a cute shirt with blue-jeans. She sighed hopelessly, looking at the sky as she mused further.

If it wasn't her clothes, then what was it? What made them like her so much? Maybe it was all just an act? No. There was just something about her that made it all seem so real. She couldn't help but... want some of it. But how could she get it? Anyone who knew Maya only knew about her through building. They wouldn't care to get to know the real her. They'd only see her as what Gill, Aiden and even Lukas always did: A pretty, fun accomplice with boobs.

Olivia, on the other hand, was treated with respect. Maybe not respect from every guy that passed her, but then again neither did Maya. Olivia wasn't noticed, so who would respect her? Maya, on the other hand, _was_ noticed, but still not treated like a mindful being with a soul.

If Olivia had something to say, Jesse, Axel, even that pig Reuben would be all ears, waiting to hear what she said. Sure, Olivia wasn't always agreed with and that wasn't what Maya wanted for herself either. She didn't want to be agreed with. She wanted to be considered, like Olivia always seemed to be. She wanted to be appreciated, like Olivia truly was.

What did Olivia do to earn that?

No. A better question came, rushing at her like a bullet-train, roaring and intimidating. Blinding and fast.

What did Maya do to lose that?

She never thought of it that way.

She brought a soft hand to her stinging eyes and brushed away a few tears before they could reach her lids. For a while she had despised Olivia because she could never figure out why this girl was so cherished by her friends. But now that she had gained new perspective on that, who was really to blame for the constant misfortune?

She stifled her sobs, only rendering them as silent squeaks for mercy. It only made sense that this was on her. Maybe somewhere she had tripped up, and they were only paying her what she was due. Maybe fate just had it coming for her? Was that it?

Maybe she was just going to have to learn to go with it. She'd just have to live as the 'girl on their arms'. At least then she'd have a picture of happiness.

'But I don't want that', Maya thought to herself, remembering how happy Olivia looked when she was valued for her intelligence. There was no way she was going to be anyone's punk on this. But what if there was no other choice than the sucker's choice?

'That's just it, Maya', she thought to herself, 'There _is_ no other choice'.

((Le timeskip!))

The sun rose high over Maya's face, blinding her vision for a few seconds before gently warming her face. She sat up and pulled the warm blanket off of her before judging her near surroundings. Her wooden bedroom was in mint condition as usual, a picture of herself with Lukas, Aiden and Gill in it.

She walked up to the picture, picking it up and running a hand over it.

"Oh, you're finally awake." Came a voice behind her. She turned around to see Lukas standing at her doorframe.

"Oh, uh, hey, Lukas!" She greeted. He usually didn't come to her room to visit her. "So, what are we going to do today?" She asked, her voice on the verge of cracking. He chuckled a bit.

"I don't know. It's not like we have another building competition to win, so... we're free the whole day." He said. Maya stared into Lukas's eyes for a few seconds. There was so much peace, warmth, happiness in them.

He was okay.

She broke into tears, rushing up to him and hugging him with all her might. At this point, I, the author, start tearing up, ready to cry myself. With a sigh, I continue. She buried her face in his chest, not caring that he wasn't hugging her back. She just wanted to hold him, feel him, know that he was there. He was okay.

He was okay in that world.

POV Switch

"Uh, why is she hugging me?" Gill asked nervously as Maya subconsciously wrapped her arms around him, crying softly in her sleep. Aiden shrugged, the rising sun warming his face as he did. "I just tapped her and she started hugging me. This is... weird." Gill repeated, trying to sit up, only to have Maya cling to him like he was about to melt away. Her fingernails, kempt as they were, started to dig into his neck. "Ow! Uh, Maya! Wake up!" Gill shouted before Aiden grabbed her frame, shaking her gently and snickering to himself. Who could help it? This was one strange way to wake up.

Maya stirred in Gill's lap and her grip loosened. Afterwords, soft crying was heard. The boys' eyes widened in confusion and they both chanced each other a surprised look before Maya lifted her head off of Gill's chest, her makeup smudged across her reddened face.

"Uh... are you okay?" Aiden asked, hoping he wasn't coming off as offensive. Maya slowly turned face him, her crying stopping for a few moments.

"We... we need to find him."

"Find... who...?" Gill asked, not noticing Aiden's face paling.

"Lukas."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So... there you have it! So far Aiden has a beef with Jesse, Gill has a beef with Jesse's group in general and Maya has some real issues with Olivia and herself! Doppelganger, no? Anyways, I hope you like where this is going with Lukas. And, speaking of that, yes, I** _ **did**_ **cry when I was typing up Maya's dream. I had a flashback like that when I was sorely missing a friend of mine.**

 **Crisper: I guess I should've warned you about the feels, huh?**

 **Me: Yeah.**

 **Crisper: *hugs me***

 **Me: Thanks, bro.**


	9. Dying

**Author's Note:**

 **Alrighty! Time for another wonderful episode of MC:OM! I know, it might be a bit early to say here, but I've been thinking, and it looks like this story will have not only a sequel, but a third installment as well! Maybe even a fourth! I'm getting some loose future ideas that I want to put to use, so... yeah. Well, back to this! One warning, though! Particularly disturbing imagery lies ahead, but nothing you shouldn't be able to handle. Just the description of skin after Wither and Zombie infects it. Hit it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: Hey, Gamer, I just wanted to say something.**

 **Me: Fire away!**

 **Crisper: R-really?!**

 **Me: Sure!**

 **Crisper: Okay! (blows fire everywhere!)**

 **Me: OWWOWOOWOOOWWWW!**

 **Crisper: (winks and hits it)**

* * *

"How did we forget that?" Gill asked with a cracking voice. Aiden stiffened in an attempt to fight his anxiety while Maya just sat numbly in Gill's lap, sniffling occasionally as she lay her head on his chest. "Maybe we were just caught up with survival." He reasoned, his words far beyond justification and nothing short of worried.

Aiden muttered something to himself, an annoyed look on his face as he folded his arms. Maya barely shook her head, the dream too vivid for her to speak through her binding emotions. Gill awkwardly brought a hand to her head, stroking her brown hair idly. The usually fiesty girl tenderly accepted his unusual action.

"Why don't we go looking for him?" Gill interjected, his voice jittery like his glossy eyes.

"It's not that easy, Gill." Aiden growled, annoyed by Gill's ignorance. In Aiden's absolute mindset, that Witherstorm was no doubt still out there, lurking around for unsuspecting, overly optimistic prey. Its huge tentacles were burning alight with purple hunger and the Witherstorm would welcome Aiden and his friends with arms wide open and a gaping maw.

Aiden's blood thickened at the horrible thought of being eaten by that massive warship.

"Why not?" Gill challenged Aiden's rule almost as quickly as it was set, but there was something different this time. Where was the pride that usually hinted his tone? 'Hinted' being an understatement, of course. Ah, that's right. Feigning sincerity and noble heart.

"Did you forget the fact that a huge Witherstorm is out to eat us?!" Aiden yelled, obviously irked by Gill's 'sudden change of heart'. "If we go out there, we're dead, Gill! Dead! Don't you get it?" He shook his head in disbelief while Gill stared back, his angsty face unchanged. Maya gazed up at Aiden, virtually emotionless on the husk.

"We're _not_ gonna die, Aiden!" Gill hollered, hugging Maya to himself while she stirred in his grasp. "I'm _not_ gonna let that happen to any of you!"

"That doesn't change anything, though! We can't leave this place! I-" He stopped himself, drawing in a shaky breath, his grass-green eyes faltering. "We can't."

"But we _have_ to! Lukas could still be out there! He'd do the same thing for us!" He shouted back, his voice quieting. Aiden had no response other than staring him stark in the face through glassy eyes. Maya sat up a bit, causing Gill to blush slightly as he realized how closely he was holding her to his chest. He instantly loosened his grip, though not completely letting go.

"Aiden, Gill's right." She sniffled, not caring to wipe away the drying tearstreaks on her flushed cheeks. "He's our friend."

"Maya, we _can't_." Aiden repeated, his voice firm and determined. Maya glanced at his folded arms knowingly, glancing at his face as he cringed in pain.

"It's your arms, isn't it?" She asked softly. Aiden's eyes widened, his jaw lopsided as blameworthiness pounced him like a cat out of tall grass. Gill noticed Aiden's questionable and disturbed reaction, glancing at Maya in question.

"What's wrong with his arms?" He asked with a nervous curiousity. Aiden growled loathingly, looking away.

Two pairs of eyes and the ever-present sun burned his arms, making him cringe.

"Aiden?" He flinched, turning to face Gill who stared warily at him. Maya seemed worried enough, and Gill was only making him feel even more uneasy. Before he knew it, he was heaving, but not only from the pain. His reticence and anger only flourished with Maya's probing, the salty water of her words sizzling his tolerance to a steaming crisp.

"F-fine. You want to know _so bad_ about my arms, Maya?" He asked, his shaky voice low and menacing. Maya's blue eyes widened in unsettlement as he spoke and Gill tried not to stare at the silent-yet-deadly brunette. "Well, here." He unfolded his arms, rolling up just one of his sleeves. Maya gasped in shock, Gill's black eyes only widening with his unsettlement.

"A-Aiden... what the...?" His voice trailed off as he stared at the brunette's arms, or what used to be his arms. This was actually not even remotely similar to his arms.

Where skin was barely visible, only pale, deadened flesh showed. The moist, slimy skin was nearly buried underneath purple, hideous welts. Blood and a pale, purple foam oozed from his arm, seeping through torn blisters. He rolled his other sleeve, cringing as the leather rubbed against his infected skin. His own stomach turned upset when he saw that his right arm was dusted with green and he remembered his recent scuffle with the zombie.

"It... I thought it..." Maya blinked her eyes in disbelief, seeing his completely blackened fingers. She had liked to hope that whatever was wrong with him was confined to his hands or at least not as gruesome as this. How wrong she was.

"What's... what the..." Gill was fully rendered speechless.

"Aiden, what _is_ that?" Maya asked involuntarily. Adrenaline nearly flooded Aiden's senses completely as he glared at her, teeth bared and eyes piercingly hostile.

"Still so full of questions, eh, Maya?" He asked sardonically. Maya fumbled for words before he abruptly cut her off with agressive yelling. "I don't know what the heck this is, okay?!" He yelled, causing Maya to flinch afraidly. All thoughts of not letting loose were less than faint memories and his heart and words were drowning in his pain. Maya stared back, eyes wide in numb fear and vivid pain. "You wanna know what I _do_ know? I know that it hurts like heck, every single second of my no-good life. Especially when I'm out in the sun. But that's all I know, so, th-thanks for asking!" He screamed, tears streaming down his eyes. "I'm gonna die and there's nothing I can do about it!" His voice was almost gone and his pained words were nearly swallowed by his helpless, agonized sobbing.

He had never cried in front of these two before, but now he was as far as weeping, collapsed to the floor and bawling like a baby. He felt so hopeless and bleak, emptiness darker than his hands even though he felt so full. So full of things to lose. Friends, if he ever had them. The chance to get a family, if he ever stuck with someone long enough. Love life was apparently out of the window, as was parenting if he ever felt interested in that kind of thing. No more Endercon, no more building. Even his remote dream of becoming a writer was suddenly dashed, despite how random and low the possibility was to him. He was losing everything, though.

Gill and Maya stared back, Maya crying along while Gill only watched Aiden stunnedly as the brunette lay on his side like a newborn, weeping bitterly.

"I don't know what this is, but it's getting worse... it hurts so much and I can't do anything about it..." He whimpered softly and helplessly, feebly pulling his sleeves over his rotting arms.

"Aiden..." Gill was too shaken to say anything else, and Maya's crying grew slightly louder next to him.

"Aiden, I'm sorry." Maya whimpered through her soft, jittery heaving, not able to look her pained friend in the eye. Paralyzed by fear, she didn't dare move anywhere near him, imagining he wouldn't be so welcoming or appreciative of her action. "I didn't know it was this bad. I didn't know you were dying." She added, though Aiden had started crying again.

POV Switch

'Best let him ride it out... right?' Gill thought to himself, staring at Aiden who sobbed endlessly. His own eyes began to burn with tears.

They couldn't lose Aiden. They just couldn't. Could they?

No wonder Aiden was so scared of the Witherstorm. He was still suffering from its gruesome illness, no doubt haunted by the fact that it was slowly venturing over the surface in search of more to infect and eat. Going back to the source of the problem was truly a stupid idea, especially if Aiden was going to...

'No, no... stay positive, Gill', Gill told himself, tears streaming down his face as he tried to shove through the obvious with his optimism. He burst into tears as the thought entered his head. Stay positive? How could he with all this negativity? When his best friend was about to die?

((Le timeskip, brought to you by The Feelz. Prolly don't buy them))

They all lay on the ground, staring off into the sky, save Aiden who wouldn't dare glance at the burning block of fiery pain. The quiet, dismal atmosphere was only accompanied with Aiden's constant sniffing and hiccuping.

Gill glanced at the brunette, seeing his arms sprawled in obvious discomfort, occasionally twitching slightly. Maya lay beside Gill, a tired, pain-stricken look on her guilty face as she made sure to keep her distance from the brunette.

"Let's get back to our hideout, guys." Gill said, previously noting the sunset. He heard rather than saw Maya lift her head and Aiden try to face him. Gill sat up, the grass rustling beneath him and Maya. He started walking towards Aiden who was trying to sit up. "Hang on, let me help you." Gill said, not at all surprised to hear a reluctant scoff from the stubborn brunette.

"I can do it on my own."

"... alright." Gill said, sounding unsure. He stepped back slightly, supervising as Aiden pushed himself to his knees, struggling for the first bit and wincing in pain before using his balance and his knees to stand up. Aiden brushed past Gill in silence, the bearded man following quietly.

Maya was already sitting on the floor inside, and Gill saw her constantly wiping away tears and resisting the urge to cry. Gill was unsure about comforting her and angering Aiden and decided to ignore her.

Aiden slid to the floor, trying to be as hands-free as possible. Maya tried to shut him out completely, for his sake and for hers.

"Goodnight, guys." Gill said, knowing how meaningless his words were. Aiden scoffed cruelly. Maya only whimpered, setting her head on her knees as she lay on her side.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So, yeah. This one took a bit longer to crank out because I'm going to start letting chapters sit so that I can go back and edit them to be of good quality. Tell me how I did!**

 **Crisper: Oh man...**

 **Me: Ikr! What's it gonna be like for Maya and Gill? What's in it for Aiden? How are things going to turn out? Tell me what you think in a review! Close it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: (closes it)**


	10. Wither

**Author's Note:**

 **Alrighty! Here it is! Another installment of MC:OM! *confetti explodes***

 **Crisper: Sorry!**

 **Me: You have GOT to stop that! Anyways, thanks for the nine positive reviews left here! Every one of them counts and it makes the writing experience much more enjoyable, not that it isn't awesome as heck already. Well, here you go, readers (including Mysticsummer7). I give you #LuckyChapter10! Hit it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: (hits it)**

As the midnight moon hung above Aiden, the brunette's painful arms kept sleep from his weary eyes. With the sun gone, there was only slight relief for the oozing sores on his. He shifted uneasily, drowsily combing his sore, sleeved arm with a stiff, itchy hand as he tried to relieve some of the pain.

'Why does it have to be _both_ of my arms?', he mused defeatedly as he tried to soothe his burning limbs. He weakly grabbed his sleeve and tried to pull it up but his rigid fingers were useless to him.

He sighed frustratedly, giving up and letting his arms lay limply at his side as he tried to simply cope with the itching. When the pain wouldn't subside, he struggled to his feet and plodded up dirt staircase.

'No use in trying to get to sleep', he thought frustratedly. He plopped to the floor once out in the open and gazed at the bright moon. The cool wind pushed a few dark clouds in front of the majestic night-light, but it also lifted a foul odor to his nose. He looked at his arms, growling bitterly.

'I may as well be dead, because I smell like it already', he thought, feeling embarrassed. He heard the soft sloshing of the fishing pond and looked up. He imagined the water would be a cool relief to his itching, burning arms and started to take off his jacket again, wincing as the sleeves rubbed across his sores.

"Aiden?" A phantom whispered behind him, making him flinch. He spun around, but the surprise in his eyes instantly turned to resentment when he saw Maya peering over the cracks at him. Crying had made her voice and eyes unrecognizable at first, but her blue eyes eventually shone past her reddened face.

He squinted annoyedly. "What?" He barked menacingly. He didn't shift at all when Maya's eyes fell from his and she faltered.

"I'm... I just wanted to check on you." She told him after hesitating. They locked eyes for a moment, her sea blue orbs searching his flushed face for an answer. He looked away. Her eyes crestfallen, she ducked down and retreated to their little "house".

Seeing that she had dismissed herself, Aiden started sneaking to the fishing-pond, not wanting Maya's or a hostile mob's accompaniment. Before he could fully leave, Maya's head resurfaced and he stifled an agitated groan.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"It's none of your business." Aiden snapped, glaring into her eyes. She looked discouraged, but Aiden felt that her sudden clinginess far outweighed any sorry feelings he didn't have for her. She looked at him, her eyes tired and helpless looking. She was probably getting no more sleep than he was, and, like him, she probably also given up on attempting rest.

"Can I come with you?" She asked. He rolled his eyes frustratedly.

"Fine, whatever." He huffed, turning and walking away, no second thought about waiting for her coming to his mind. His bad mood worsened when he heard her hurried footsteps behind him and his neck stiffened. Maya stayed close but didn't say a word.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the pond. Aiden started pulling off his jacket, much to Maya's shock and unpreparedness. Not wanting any more trouble, she quietly and swiftly looked away, but caught him wincing out of the corner of her eye. A pang of guilt struck her, anxiety and queasiness hitting her with it. She wanted to help him, but she knew what that kind of a gesture would earn her. Compassion was definitely not one of those rewards.

'Out of sight, out of mind', she thought to herself, looking away from him. How awkward would it be to cover her ears and sing a mindless tune, because his grunting was starting to get loud. He sounded like he was in a world of pain then. Was she just going to stand there and ignore him?

Somehow she felt blameworthy for him. How could she stand there and act like he was fine?

"A-Aiden?"

"What do you need, Maya?" He grunted, his fingers nipping stubbornly at his jacket as he spoke. "I'm kind of in the middle of something, in case you hadn't noticed." He added spitefully. She softly gulped before continuing.

"I know. I just was asking if I could help you take your clothes off." She told him. She instantly regretted what she said as the words left her mouth.

Aiden instantly stopped and turned to face her, eyes wide with shock and jaw askew. A heavy blush fell over Maya's face as Aiden's grass-green eyes were locked on her blue ones, unsettlement on his blushing face. His unmoving gaze only made the awkwardness intensify and she looked away.

"N-not in… _that_ kind of way, though." She stuttered quietly. Aiden mouth clamped shut as he tried to get over what she said before. She groaned in frustration, her cheeks heating up.

POV Switch

Aiden knew very well that Maya hadn't said that in a… particular way, but why was he so shocked about it?

Maybe it was just so… unexpected, he figured. He even felt his own temperature rising and couldn't help the soft blush that came on with it. He scowled at her as he mused silently.

He heard shuffling feet and looked up to see Maya nervously fiddling with her fingers, still looking away.

"I think I'll, uh… yeah, you wanted to come out here alone, anyways. I think I'll go." She said, turning to walk away.

Aiden watched her leave before turning to face the pond again. Within a few minutes, he finally coaxed his jacket off, followed by his green shirt. He gently slid into the small pond until the water covered all but his neck. It burned his arms slightly at first, but after a few minutes of silence, he felt the sting in his arms begin to fade.

He started to relax, feeling sleep coming on, but something odd rose to the surface beside him. He chanced the foreign object a look before immediately screaming in surprise as he came nose to nose with a freshly dead, withered fish. Still screaming, he sprang backwards, scooting himself along with his sore arms and screaming louder than before. His arms immediately started hurting again after being used so vigorously and he lay on the ground, blinking away the tears that threatened to pour down his face.

He heard footsteps and opened his eyes to see Maya standing over him, staring at him for a few seconds.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Nothing, okay?" He replied annoyedly.

"But I heard you scream. I'm sure _something_ happened, Aiden." She told him, putting her arms on her hips. He scoffed, sitting up and cringing.

"Nothing happened, Maya." He repeated stubbornly as Maya walked towards the pond. He saw her flinch before dipping her hand into the water to turn around and hold up the dead fish.

"Was it this?" She asked softly.

"No." He denied, looking away. Maya threw the fish away before walking past Aiden again. "You should probably clean your arms off, instead of just soaking. It might help with… you know..." She added meekly, rushing off before he could retort. He frowned at her before scooting back to the pond.

He cupped some water in one of his hands, gently pouring it onto the other arm. It stung a bit, but after wiping away some of the pus and dead skin it didn't hurt so much. It looked considerably less gruesome, but there was still pain and the ominous, purple hue on his skin. After a few minutes, both of his arms were cleaned. He turned around to put on his green shirt, but it was gone! He glared at his remaining jacket, jerking it off the ground to see if the shirt was under it, but there was nothing but dirt. He angrily snatched his jacket off of the grassy floor and marched to where he thought Maya would be, only to find her absence. She definitely wasn't asleep, he thought knowingly. The moon was almost setting, and she would've only had a few hours left of sleep.

He heard the sound of water splashing and turned to face its direction. A way off, he saw Maya leaning over something. He heard sloshing water and he saw her poking something else with a stick. He sneaked towards her, occasionally hiding behind a tree or ducking next to a rock to avoid the eyeless glare of a zombie that drunkenly wandered by. Eventually, he arrived behind her and saw that she was actually vigorously stabbing at a green, blobby thing, thrusting it back and forth in a small hole of water. He squinted, recognizing that the "green, blobby thing" was actually his shirt.

"Maya, just _what_ do you think you're doing with my shirt?" He asked accusingly, glowering at her as she worked.

"I'm just washing it, Aiden." She told him, glancing at him briefly before returning to her little deed. He felt a pang of remorse tap him in the chest and his glare softened into a frown. The sound of water splashing softly made him return his gaze to Maya's back and he glared.

"Fine, then." He shot back. Maya heard him plop down behind her, and she knew that he was most likely staring her down. She shook her head slightly, shoving him out of her head at that moment. Aiden remained, unmoving in heart and body. She felt his hot glower intensifying and she let the shirt alone, finally turning around to face him.

"Why are you glaring at me?" She asked.

"I'm just making sure you don't _ruin_ my shirt." He answered rudely. She dropped the stick.

"Are you still mad at me for asking you about your arms, Aiden?" She asked accusingly.

"Pretty much, yeah. I don't let go of those kinds of things as easily as someone like _you_ would." He replied casually, his soft, sardonic tone making the words sting more than they should've, even if Maya wasn't taken aback by his words.

"Well, excuse me for caring about you." She snorted.  
"Maya, you don't care. The only thing you want is to, what was it? Oh, yeah. Help me take my clothes off. That's the only thing you've cared about since day one."

"I didn't say that on purpose, Aiden!" Maya yelled.

"Oh, you've been hitting on all three of us boys since the day you first got here, and you didn't say _that_ on purpose?"

"Yeah. I _didn't_ , Aiden. Now would you shut up about that? If you don't want me to wash your stupid shirt, then fine!" She marched back to the little "washer" and forked the shirt with her stick before throwing the soppy, green mound on the ground in front of him. He glanced at it with his lips in a flat line before looking at Maya who glared at him. She turned and left, leaving him alone to his own thoughts and his soppy shirt.

He started to curse under his breath, but couldn't move his tired lips to. As he tried to stand, he remembered that he hadn't slept for two nights and days. He had no doubt ruined his sleep-cycle, too, and it was only reasonable to guess that his Wither-sickness was adding to his fatigue. Before he could second guess, he suddenly found himself laying on the bare floor, his eyelids like like dark, heavy demon's wings. A low snore rose in his throat and he instantly fell asleep.

((Le timeskip, brought to you by The Feels, of course))

Sleepiness lingered in Gill's black eyes as he slowly awakened. In a corner, his blurred vision made out Maya sleeping peacefully, her body entranced with fatigue. But where was Aiden?

"Maya, Maya, get up." Gill hissed, not caring to whisper as if someone else slept there. He watched impatiently as she groggily lifted her head, pushing a few strands of brown hair away from her sore eyes. As if remembering some dreadful thing, her countenance lit up like a startled cat and her eyes darted around the room.

"What? Is that Witherstorm-thing out there?" She asked, her eyes wide with fright and threatening to spill over with horrified tears.

"No, Maya! It's alright, we're fine!" He shouted, pitying her for her fear and instantly regretting waking her up like he had. "Maya, where's Aiden?" He asked, quick to refocus on the situation. Maya's blue eyes did a double-take on the mostly empty, small room, her stomach knotting up as she did.

"He didn't come back?" She whispered to herself as she remembered their encounter the previous night. She whipped past Gill and to the stairs, and the other man followed her, no questions asked.

POV Switch

"Aiden!" Maya called as she rushed out into the open. "Aiden, where are-" She yelped as she suddenly fell flat on her face. She clambered to her knees, not caring that her nails were digging into the ground as she turned over.

She gasped at the sight of Aiden's unmoving corpse… No! Body! He couldn't be dead, could've he? He was just with her last night!

Tears burst through her eyelids and rushed down her cheeks as a loud scream escaped her throat, closely followed by Aiden's own cry of terror. Behind them, Gill screamed louder than Aiden and Maya's voices combined. Maya watched quietly as the three of them panted softly.

"What happened?" Gill finally croaked. Maya moved to speak, but only managed to choke back her pained sobs. She glanced at Aiden who only glared back, sleepiness in his dreary, baggy eyes. He simply lay his head back down, shutting his eyes with no words.

"Is he gonna be okay for now?" Maya asked, wiping a few daring tears from her eyes. Gill inhaled nervously, rubbing his neck with his hand as he looked Aiden over.

"I… I think he's just tired. I doubt he got any sleep last night." He reasoned unsurely.

"Gill… is… is it safe for him to just be out here, out in the open?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine. There aren't any monsters for now." He said, bringing a hand to his itching face. Maya sent Aiden one last uneasy stare, watching his chest barely rise and fall and hearing a whisper of a snore coming from him. "We'll probably move him later tonight, but he needs to sleep right now."

"Okay."

"You wanna come with me to catch some fish, Maya?" He asked. She shook her head slowly, avoiding eye-contact with him and Aiden. "Alright… you, uh… okay." He walked away, leaving her at Aiden's side.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Okay! This is about 2,500 words, give or take 99... (I got my hands on a word-counter! Yay!), and I'll try to keep all my entries this same length. Now, another poll! Originally, this story was supposed to have at least some platonic Aidaya, but now I'm starting to ship Gillaya. But please tell me how I did! Please correct me, but no flames! Biya! Close it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: (closes it)**


	11. REWRITING MC:OM! SEE INSIDE 4 DETAILS!

Hey! I just wanted to say this. It's important, so **read the whole thing** , if you will.

First, thanks for 7 follows, 7 favs and 10 positive reviews! Couldn't have done it without you! Literally! I really appreciate your support! But I do have some bad/good news.

 **I'm going to be rewriting Ocelot Mode**. It's okay-ish, but I think the characters are totally OOC! Also, this story was pantsed (meaning written with no prior planning), and I'm starting to fry out. There are things that I can't do without the plot being cringey and inconsistent, so I'm going back to the drawing boards! Or would those be _writing_ boards?

Anyways, if you readers really want, I'll leave this old one up and let it bask in its happiness instead of deleting it, but it's finished. No more uploads. Don't worry, though! **The rewrite will be on FFN** , so you don't need to worry about hopping around websites to find it. Peace out, and I'll see you soon! Close it, Crisper!

Crisper: (closes it)


	12. It's Over!

**Heyo, everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that this story is officially** ** _DEAD!_** **Dead, I say. Dead as a doorknob! Feel free to enjoy chapter one of it's** ** _rewrite_** **, however. I'll be keeping this original up, but I may end up deleting it. It just depends on how it affects traffic to the rewrite.**

 **Here's the link!: s/12143516/1/Minecraft-Ocelot-Mode**

 **A few changes have been made. Read them here, otherwise you're free to go!:**

 **1\. This one will actually get somewhere. I've got it pretty well laid out!**

 **2\. Instead of shipping Aidaya, I'll be shipping Gilaya in this new edition.**

 **3\. This story will take place in a submodern AU (which includes today's technology and yesterday's potions!)**

 **4\. It's rated K+ so that I can get more readers, but if you ever think I need to change the rating, let me know! This won't have any adult-content, only a few light jokes made by Aiden about Gilaya and a few kisses shared by Gill and Maya. It's the violence and illnesses I'm concerned about.**

 **5\. Instead of diving right into the Witherstorm, there will be a bit of dialogue before that!**

 **I fear I may be spoiling, so I'm gonna close. Close it Crisper!**

 **...**

 **(picks up note) 'Bye'?! Crisper, when I said 'you can leave', I was talking to readers, not** ** _you_** **! (closes it myself)**


End file.
